'Sport is a metaphor for life'.

Back in April, we said sport would likely be a major player during this election. Australia is a sporting, sports-loving, sports-mad country, and politicians often see connecting to the sports as a way of connecting to the voters; especially swinging voters in those marginal, working-class areas that will likely decide the outcome of the national poll.

Well, we're at the halfway mark of the campaign, and the prediction is coming true.

Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull have spent nearly as much time on sporting fields and throwing footballs around as they have wearing high-vis vests and touring factories.

Watch this girl nutmeg Shorten:

Hanging around on the field, having a pass with the players or the kids, and getting in a few photos with the sporting stars of each particular electorate is an easy publicity opportunity for leaders. It also doesn't hurt to drop a little bit of money for new floodlights, a refurbishment of the clubhouse or resurfacing of the cricket pitch while you're there.

It is also political gold for politicians who are often pegged as out-of-touch with the common Australians. It's a wonderful tool to connect with the electorate at large. Who doesn't love sport? It additionally offers some wonderful opportunities for thinly-veiled metaphors about the election campaign itself.

Wednesday night was the opening game of the State of Origin rugby league series, with politicians on all sides clamouring to make their allegiances known. Turnbull, and his fellow NSW MPs Craig Laundy and Scott Morrison got in on it: